Canoe Camping - Moose, Fishing, Catch & Cook Trout: 3 Days in Algonquin Park
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- Опубліковано 1 лют 2023
- Mid July 3 day canoe camping trip in Algonquin Park
We had a beautiful first day paddling to the lake where we would spend night 1, only to find a big group of people stationed at 'our campsite'. On a lake with only one bookable site, a place we had stayed before, we knew this was not a good sign. We tried to get their attention as we paddled along the shore. They awkwardly ignored us.. It was almost 2pm and their camp was completely set up while they cooked food over a fire and blasted music on a radio - looking like they were having a wickedly good time. Knowing that they were camping without a permit (or off permit) We called out and spoke with one of the members of the group - they had just arrived! We told them that we had the permit booked for the lake, and they let us know there was another site. We knew there was, but it wasn't a nice site, it was an extra site for emergencies, this was the site we planned to stay on when we booked, and there shouldn't have been anyone else on the lake unless there was an emergency and they needed to take the extra site. They said they were from a camp and were 're-routed', but after some discussion they did end up saying that they understood and that they would move onto the other site. we paddled around and waited for them to move along to the second site, and then proceeded to set up our camp on the site we had planned to stay on. Luckily in this scenario it was obvious that they were camping off permit with only one bookable site on the lake, but on a big lake, I can see how it could be impossible to identify who has stolen a site. This type of behaviour can put people in dangerous situations, not to mention suck the fun out of a trip, endlessly paddling around a huge lake with all sites taken.
After this unpleasant experience, we enjoyed the rest of the day and evening.
We left early the next morning before eating breakfast to move on to the next lake we had booked. James fished as we paddled along. we arrived at the next lake, one of two sites still had occupants, which we had expected due to the time of day. We unloaded at the free site and cooked up some breakfast. We thought we might check out the other site after the occupants left, but the one we stopped at was perfect and decided to stay.
We set up cap, swam, enjoyed wonderful weather and were surprised by the sighting of a moose and her calf. Later that day James caught a trout and he cooked it up over the fire. A perfect dinner.
The next day we paddled back out while James caught more fish, and we lost Emma overboard with excitement to one of the catches. After fishing her out of the lake we ended the trip content and relaxed.
![How to get BACK IN when your Canoe tips over [SOLO]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/lFP1cHGVQkM/mqdefault.jpg)
Nice video and beautiful dog. I think I included that first campsite as one of my favourites in an article I wrote for one of the paddling magazine several years ago.
Quintessential Algonquin - It truly is one of the best campsites we’ve visited in the park.
Glad you enjoyed the video! Your early videos are part of what inspired us to get outdoors many years ago. Thank you - and Cali! ♥️
Wonderful presentation. I visited Algonquin Park as an Explorer Scout when a boy over sixty five years ago. Grew up in Town Line, New York. Absolutely beautiful park. Emma is a very beautiful golden retriever. I see she is your constant companion and friend. Enjoy your canoeing adventures.
Love the videos, keep up the good work! Got the notification just as I sat down for lunch so perfect timing lol
Nice! Glad you enjoyed coming along! 😀
I was so excited to get this notification! You all do such amazing videos, so many beautiful shots - helps me forget I'm stuck in the city! 🤣❤️
Same!
Perfect! Mission accomplished 😀 we love watching these kinds of videos when we’re stuck in the city in the winter. So glad you enjoyed our little summer trip!
Well, this was a totally unexpected treat.
If Emma could design a canoe for the three of you, I wonder what it would look like 🤔🤣
High throne in the front with a diving board off the side and unlimited snack dispenser.. basically what she has 😂
Well this is a late Christmas present!! 😊👍🏼
😄 Merry Merry 🎄
That was some fine laker fishing . Kudos on the barbless hooks and good releases
Thanks Alex, it was a great trip for fishing
I really appreciate the videos. Thanks for sharing them!
Thanks Chris! We’re happy to hear you enjoy them ♥️
This was a nice surprise! With everyone posting winter camping videos now, this was a real treat, so thank you! So sorry you had to deal with those people on your site. It makes my blood boil hearing about these sort of things! But I'm so glad you stood your ground and made them tear down and set up again, hopefully it'll make them think twice about doing this again.
Thanks Richard! Yes, since there was no real reason that they were there off permit, we hope it was annoying for them and they don’t do it again. Can’t imagine it happening on a big lake for someone who can’t find the off-permittees 🙁
You are the luckiest man alive:-)--
This was awesome..you guys have been missed. Can't wait for another!!
Ah thanks Kristin, so nice to hear. We're glad to be back ;) more to come
I’m sorry you had to deal with those people that stole your site. You’re right, that is such a crappy situation for everyone! 😢 loved your video! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Shannon! Ya it was a bummer coming up to the site hearing music and a bunch of people, and then seeing that they were VERY much set up and mid fire cook ..ignoring us lol 😕 Minus that situation, it was a great trip! Glad you enjoyed the video 😊
Stoked to see you guys out and about again. Love watching your adventures. 🎉. Cheers
Thanks Paul!! Cheers 😀
Great job...thoroughly enjoyed!
Thanks Jim!
So glad y’all are back! Can’t wait till Fall 2023
Thanks Harold! We can’t wait for fall too.. the best time!
Love the video guys. Just booked to do portage/camp in July in Algonquin. Can’t wait. Gave me tons of tips for the trip 😊
Thanks! That's exciting, you'll have a great trip in July, no doubt! Perfect time to go 👌
I camp with my son and your family gives me wonderful memories when we did it as a family, Love, love, love your content. Stay Safe out there.😁
That's awesome, so many good memories when you camp with family ❤️ Very much appreciate the lovely comment, and so happy that we can share our trips with others who enjoy them.
Nice to see Emma back in action! Nice trip and video. First time in a while that you didn't run into any storms while you were out. Fishing looked exceptionally good too. Thanks for taking the time to share your time with us.
Thanks Tom! It was a great trip, amazing weather and fishing for sure. Appreciate the kind words.
Wonderful video guys, I really enjoyed that.
Thanks Carlton! Appreciate you watching and letting us know you liked it, means a lot 🥰
Awesome. Should use that ad your thumb nail. 👍 moose and calf . Great video. Thanks for taking me along
Thanks for coming along Rob! Wish we had better quality zoomed in footage of that sighting, would be a great thumbnail. Maybe I’ll still change it 😄
Well that was nice 🙂
Thank you
Thanks for watching, 😊 glad you enjoyed!
Nice video on a cold winter day, you should get a print of Jamie holding the fish and Emma in the background. Emma's such a dare devil.
Haha Thanks Jay! I was dying at the whole scene ..she just couldn't contain herself on that one. Thanks for checking it out!
Great video and the two moose where a real treat! CHEERS!!!😊
Great video. 😍
Thank you! 🤗
I've always wanted a Golder Retriever to be my camp partner, so I'm loving these videos with Emma. Amazing channel! I'd love to see a video for how you pack for your trips and plan routes.
Emma is an exceptional camp partner. She doesn’t pull her weight, but she has a great attitude and sense of humour 😄
We would love to do a video about our gear or packing and trip planning. Maybe we will get to it soon! Thanks for watching and chatting with us John
Takes someone special, to grab a pre-reserved site, particularly at the start of a weekend, and especially a party of 12!
Unpleasant bump in the trip. Hopefully having to move will discourage that behaviour in the future.
One of my subscribers just recommended watching your video's so I just subscribed and very interested I will definitely start at the beginning and follow your channel.
Oh, awesome thanks! We will have to check out your channel as well. Thanks for watching and subscribing.
Reading the description of this one then seeing the first frame of the video I knew what site you were heading to. It's a great site! You guys probably handled the situation better than I. HAHA! I'm at a point where this has happened too often and have lost patience with people's excuses. If not an emergency or weather related it's just poor planning. And 12 people with a 9 person max per permit? If they were with a camp there would be a group leader who wouldn't allow that to happen in the first place as camps teach and respect the etiquette and rules of the backcountry. Aaaanyway...nice video! Always nice to have these on a -40C day here in Ottawa! Also noticed you wanted to relive the place where you did your first canoe carry by doing it again! Well done!
Haha, yes I added some extra backstory in the description in case anyone was interested. Luckily the second group didn't end up staying with the first group for the night.. presumably they moved on to the next lake and stole someone else's site there. Very frustrating... Anyway indeed, Thanks for watching! And yes I'm getting a very slow start to portaging the canoe haha, its a super short portage but I was able to try the flip again and then actually get it off my head.. the first time I had been assisted haha. Its time to try some more challenging ones next!
Do you ever do Killarney? I did Algonquin over 20 years and never anywhere else...Only 16 times. Then went to Killarney 2 years ago. Absolutely loved the Bell Lake to David lake loop with first night a side trip on Deacon Lake. I'm loving that net, gotta get one. I took guys out years ago on their first trip and they made me do a massive detour loop on the first day because otherwise it would have been an easy day. I said this is going to be big and we shouldn't do it because every lake on the loop was booked. They called me 'soft' (I was thinking about our one guy out of shape) kept ribbing me so I said ok :) I can do it. 3/4's of the way they were losing it(thought they were in shape)wanted to stop at every campsite. I said No! Can't take a campsite. lol
😂 amazing. Yes, can NOT take a campsite due to poor planning.. or when ambitions are bigger than capabilities. Good for you, keeping your group honest! Killarney looks beautiful, we’ve had a couple of trips planned there that didn’t work out and because of its popularity and size, it’s difficult to book with shorter notice as we often like to do. We will get out there though eventually. Thanks for watching and chatting with us Brent! Really appreciate it 😊
@@TwoPacksandaPup I booked into Killarney loop a day before I went(August heatwave) last minute. George lake won't work. to busy and even further drive. Gotta keep refreshing booking page to get a route because reservations keep changing by minute(might work might not). I met someone in there who told me the problem. People book swaths of trips early(mix and match) then drop them last minute. He was surprised of the last minute booking.... Not easy like Algonquin. Louisa and bonnechere might be the easiest book.
There are many places you could go, where there are no designated campsites, and far fewer people to compete with.
That’s for sure! Still does not mean there should be competition for reserved sites, and people stealing them should not keep others away from Algonquin.
Great videos, just as an angler for once I can't fathom why don't you use a landing net? You make me almost scream! 😱🤣🎣
James does use one now, he wasn’t doing a lot of fishing the first few years we had Emma because she was VERY difficult to canoe train.. and then to keep calm when fishing.. and James is an ultralight minimalist lol but she’s pretty good now so he’s fishing a lot more.
I stumbled across your video a few weeks ago and have been slowly watching the rest of them. They have been exciting and fun to watch now that spring is here and camping season is soon! We are doing a 3 night canoe trip in algonquin may long weekend. Out of curiosity, how many camping trips do you average per year? How long have you been canoe camping for? Thanks for the awesome content. Cheers👍
Thanks for watching Haley! We also love watching trip videos in the spring before we head out ourselves. We typically average 4-5 trips May-Oct and have been doing that regularly since 2018
Camping culture is really different! In Norway we have this law called "Allemannsretten" which means you can camp wherever you want in the backcountry, and its first come, first served. If this had happened to me in Norway and someone had come with an attitude, I would have a choice few words said. Though, I can see it from your perspective as well, and I would have been somewhat pissed if I had booked a camping spot, just to come and see its occupied by someone else the day I booked it. Is the "booking a campsite" a thing because there are alot of people wanting to camp in this area?
There are many different areas and ways to camp here. We have ‘crown land’ government owned land that everyone is free to use first come first serve and it is generally much less busy and occupied depending on where it is. However this is a provincial park where booking a camp site is mandatory. In the summer months the place is completely booked up in most parts and if other folks decide to wander in and take sites that they didn’t book, it would be a zoo. Sites need to be limited due to the popularity in order to preserve the natural habitat and avoid dangerous situations where campers are travelling with the impression that they have a site, a day or multiple days away from roads and access only to find their site stolen. It’s only 2.5 hours away from Toronto.. if you want to venture further from large metropolitan areas on crown land, then it’s a first come first serve. Provincial parks, you must book.
Love your videos! Emma is adorable and steals the show…… I’m just curious about the make and model of the camera you shoot with. I’m looking upgade from my iPhone and your vids are nice and crisp.❤
Thanks Lawrence! Emma is a character isn't she. Most of the footage is iPhone 12 and some from James with iPhone 10. I have to say, there is a lot more lens flare on the iPhone 12 than the previous 8 that I had, but the lenses are much better and protrude more so an unavoidable issue I suppose, still a great phone/camera
I’ve had two goldens over the last 25 years and miss them more than I can say. At 76 I don’t feel it would be fair to get another pup as I don’t want to leave him alone if something should happen to me, so I get pleasure watching Emma and her adventures.
Hi ,
I really enjoyed your videos .
We just did a 2 night trip at Tim lake .
Would you please share a list/links of gear you use .
Thanks
Thanks so much for watching and very glad you enjoyed!
We do not have a comprehensive list of gear right now but have been asked many times so I’m sure we will eventually get around to making a video about it ..hopefully this winter!
Hey you guys! Just purchased my third old Town Canoe and it's in Mint condition and seems to have been garage kept. I want to buy special paddles for it but Prices are just way out there! Especially the Bending Branches brand. Can you make a recommendation? Just lake paddling and camping like Ya'll
Thanks ahead of time
Harold
Hey Harold, that’s awesome, congrats!
We love our paddles and they were reasonable. We have Redtail, Ottertail Deluxe paddles.. on sale at MEC right now 💁♀️
www.mec.ca/en/product/5007-760/ottertail-deluxe-canoe-paddle
Have fun!
What was the route you took? I tried following with Jeff’s maps but couldn’t figure it out after Head lake. The lake with only one site through me off. Great video though. Thanks!
Thanks Michael! DM us on Instagram
Thank you! What do you use for Emma to protect her against flea and ticks?
We use a flea and tick preventative recommended by Emmas vet, because we spend so much time in the outdoors.
Hey everyone looking to do a 4 night 5 day trip. I’ve narrowed it down to the west side of Algonquin. Anyone with recommendations on what route ? Preferably one night then canoe to another site for the rest. Any recommendations would be great ! Solo :)
Question…what would it be the next course of action if they wouldn’t want to move from your site. Just want to be prepared if this ever happens to us. Is there a way to let the Park know about this either during of after the trip?
Unfortunately, there is not much more you can do, aside from reasoning with the people who are where they shouldn't be. There is no reception in the backcountry of the park. You can notify the park staff after the trip, but there isn't anything that can be done afterwards with no information on the people since they didn't book their stay. The only option is to move on to another site ideally on your booked lake if there is anything open so that you aren't purpetuating the displacement of other people, or stay with the camp stealers!
Hi guys, what are the dry packs that you use and would you recommend them? (what size are they, to) thanks
MEC Slogg 70L.. love them, although on longer trips and shoulder season trips where clothes can be bulkier, they are maxed out. 115L is also an option